The Jedi Archives
by ArSommers
Summary: ["The Reylo Chronicles: Aftermath", Part 2] Ben Solo, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, and R2-D2 visit the ruins of the Jedi temple on Coruscant in an attempt to learn more about the history of the Dark Side.
1. Chapter 1

Rey closed her eyes as Ben's fingers trailed across her arms. He started at her shoulders then slowly made his way down her biceps, past the scars from her childhood on her forearms, and rested them in her palms. She could feel a dull current in the wake of his touch, as if remnants of the Force clung to her skin.

"Don't go," Rey breathed into the silence. She felt Ben kiss her shoulder in response.

"I have to,"

Rey turned around to face her husband. The sky was clear that night, the stars illuminating what could have been darkness on Ben's face. She could see the reluctance in his eyes, but also a sense of determination.

"Somebody else should go," Rey said. "Whatever it is you're looking for on Coruscant, other members of the Resistance are capable of finding it themselves,"

Ben pulled Rey closer and wrapped his arms around her. "But I've been to Coruscant before," he said, "And Luke knows the layout of the old Jedi temple,"

Rey pulled away. She knew she was being difficult, but in that moment she didn't care. "What do you think you'll discover in the ruins of the Jedi archives that Luke missed all the times he visited before?" she asked. "If you're bound to find anything, it will only be trouble,"

"I have to try," Ben said. "This new era the Darkness spoke of could be here in weeks, maybe even days,"

"Or years, for all we know,"

Now she was trying Ben's patience. "Look," he said, some of the anger creeping into his voice, "I know you're used to waiting around for things to happen like on Jakku and all, but not me. When someone threatens my family, I refuse to sit idly by,"

Rey thought of the vision she saw when she touched Luke's lightsaber in Maz's castle all those years ago. _Come back…_

"And I refuse to have our child separated from her parents," Rey shot back.

Ben's expression softened when he realized she was thinking about her own past. "It won't be like that," he said. "If there's one person who can stand against the Darkness should it decide to speak again, it's my Uncle Luke,"

When Rey didn't respond, Ben added, "I know you said you heard the Darkness whisper for you to 'surrender'. But to me, it said much more. There has to be a reason why it chose who it spoke to, and why it said what it said. All I know is we won't find the answer here on Endor. Perhaps the key to the future is still hidden somewhere amongst the past,"


	2. Chapter 2

**_II_**

Ben felt a twinge of guilt as he, Luke, Chewbacca, and R2-D2 landed amongst the ruins of Coruscant. The parting kiss with his wife felt almost forced, as if Rey hadn't wanted to see him off at all. And he knew why: she hated the idea of Ben, still seen as a traitor among the Resistance, being in a dangerous situation without her by his side. Rey had never been a clingy person, but ever since Cela entered their lives his wife was reluctant to let any immediate family members travel beyond her reach. Such was the mindset, Ben realized, she'd retained from her childhood on Jakku.

And then, of course, there was the matter of where Ben and his family should go now that the Dark side of the Force begun to stir. After discussing the situation with Luke, the three adults came to a mutual decision that the Jedi would first speak to their closest advocates in the Rebel Alliance. But before Luke would attempt that task, Ben and his uncle agreed to first check the archives of the old Jedi Temple on Coruscant to see if they could find any additional information on the Dark side. The more they could gather about this coming storm, the better off the Resistance would be (not to mention the more Ben could prove himself a useful asset to the Alliance).

It was easy to picture Coruscant bustling with life once upon a time. But the war had taken its toll, shuffling the grasp of power between Empire and New Republic hands until nothing habitable of the planet remained. The Resistance, First Order, and scavengers had already taken anything visible of value. And so the planet was left to its own devices, an empty memorial to the Old Republic.

It was decided before they landed that Luke and R2 would remain on the Falcon while Ben and Chewbacca explored the ruins. Ever since his near brush with death, Luke still walked with a cane; as for R2, it would be hard for the droid to roll through the debris. "Remember," Luke reminded Ben as he prepared to depart, "If you sense any sign of danger, come back to the Falcon immediately," Luke nodded at Chewbacca. "That goes for you too,"

Chewbacca gave an indignant growl. His life debt was to Han, and it extended to both Ben and Cela. The wookie wanted to find out what the Darkness was planning just as much as anyone else.

After three hours of trudging through debris, Ben begun to lose hope that they would find anything of significance. He'd become extremely optimistic a few times when he thought they'd found a holocron, only to discover that it was a broken fragment that could no longer hold information.

As his legs began to grow weary, Ben's thoughts drifted back to Endor. What were Rey and Cela doing at that exact moment? Was he missing any "firsts" with his daughter? Was Rey still upset at him for going on this pointless mission?

There was a loud _CRACK_ , and before Ben could re-orient himself with the present he felt himself fall face-first through the floor. The plummet was short, ending almost as quickly as it began. Unable to grasp ahold of the situation in such a short timeframe, Ben landed flat on his stomach, instantaneously knocking the wind out of him.

"Ben?" Luke's voice came through the static of the comlink as Ben struggled for air, vaguely aware that Chewbacca landed feet-first next to him. Once his windpipe was able to transmit air to his lungs, Ben pressed the button on the transmitter and choked out "I'm okay,"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Ben knew the bruises on his chest would linger for a while, but at least he hadn't broken anything.

"Make sure you're mindful of your surroundings," Luke warned. "Distractions will only hinder the goal you're trying to reach,"

Ben was going to respond when he stopped short. "Uncle Luke," he said as a smile crept upon his face, "This may be the one time a distraction actually helped,"


	3. Chapter 3

Luke stared in silence as Ben placed the newly discovered holocrons on a table. After his nephew uncovered the final one, Luke asked "You do realize that two of these are from the Sith?"

"I know," Ben replied, "But I couldn't just leave them at the Jedi temple. If these fell into the wrong hands, who knows what could happen? Besides, they may contain information that could help us,"

"Or hinder us,"

Ben picked up a gold and blue cube, turning it over in his hands as he did so. "Then let's open a Jedi one,"

Luke raised his eyebrows. "You don't want to wait for Rey?"

Ben hesitated. "I don't want her to…worry unnecessarily," Luke cocked his head questioningly to one side. "Things have been different since Cela was born," Ben admitted. "It's as if she doesn't want the baby or myself out of her reach,"

"Perhaps it has to do with the fact that she grew up without here parents on Jakku," Luke offered.

"I'm sure it does," Ben agreed. "I've tried to talk to Rey about her behavior, but she refuses to acknowledge her actions,"

"She's been through a lot," Luke said, "As have you. There's no easy way to dissect the situation, particularly now that the Darkness has begun to stir,"

Ben held out the holocron. "They what do you say we open one," he asked, "And see what we can discover?"

After an arduous thirty minutes watching a hologram of two unknown Jedi talk about repairs to the Jedi temple, Ben was ready to hurl the cube across the room.

"Nothing," he growled. "That holocron helped in absolutely no way shape or form,"

"I didn't expect all of these would contain useful information," Luke said, "If any,"

"What's the point of even having a holocron like this?" Ben wondered aloud.

"The Jedi of the Old Republic must have found it useful at the time," Luke said. "Remember, the Sith lay dormant for almost a millennium, and the Jedis were peacekeepers residing on Coruscant," Chewbacca made a sound of agreement as Luke picked up a holocron closest to him. "Let's try another,"

Letting go of the holocron, Luke used the Force to keep it levitating in the air. The outermost section slid back, projecting a hologram of a pointy-eared Jedi leaning on a walking stick.

"Changing times, these are," the creature said. "Full of uncertainty the future is,"

Luke leaned eagerly forward, scrutinizing the hologram with keen interest.

"Uncle Luke?" Ben asked as he noticed his uncle's sudden change in demeanor.

"That's Yoda," Luke said, not taking his eyes off the image. "I haven't seen him in years,"

"Anakin may be the one the Prophecy speaks of," Yoda continued. "Yet as I warned Obi-Wan, grave danger I fear in this boy's training. Conceived by the Force, the boy was. Whether the dark side or the light was at work, know I do not,"

The hologram dissolved back into the holocron from which it came.

"That's it?" Ben asked incredulously, his annoyance threatening to bubble over again.

"It appears so,"

Ben gave Luke a dirty look. "The question was meant to be rhetorical,"

Luke returned the glance with a stern look. "Patience," he said. "We knew when we began this trip that the chances of finding anything were slim. Quite frankly, it's astounding we found anything at all,"

Ben fidgeted in his seat. It took all his strength not to give in to that old anger and smash something. Were all these information storage devices just as worthless as the next?

Unless…

Ben picked up the red pyramid-shaped Sith holocron. "There has to be a reason this was in the Jedi temple," Ben said slowly.

"Be careful," Luke warned. "Sith holocrons are known to be harmful to Jedi,"

"Then maybe it's a good thing I'm not a Jedi," Ben said. "With your permission, I'd rather open it here about the Falcon than around my family,"

Luke pondered their options. Ben was right; the Jedi wouldn't keep a Sith holocron if it didn't hold any importance. Then again, it could be a trap laid out long ago by the Sith themselves. Either way, Luke felt a sense of anticipation, as if Ben was holding both a key and a detonator at the same time.

"I agree we should open it," Luke said, "But we need to do it together,"

"But-"

Luke held up a hand. "To open a Sith holocron requires a tremendous amount of resistance to the Dark Side. It would be better to fight side by side, whatever the after-effects may be," Luke turned his attention to Chewbacca and R2. "This only affects those who are Force-sensitive," he explained. "You are both welcome to leave the room, or stay if you desire,"

Chewbacca growled indignantly and R2-D2 gave a confident beep. Whatever happened, they were in this for the long run.

"On the count of three then," Luke said. "One…two…three!"

The Dark side of the Force rippled out of the holocron in waves. Luke winced as he simultaneously tried to keep the darkness at bay and watch the hologram.

"The Age of Darkness, much like the Age of Light, will rise and fall," a recorded voice said as images of clashing lightsabers overtook the table. "Their battle is as old as time itself,"

As Luke watched the translucent bodies of Jedi and Sith, his eyes fell on his nephew. Instead of watching the hologram as Luke expected, he was alarmed to see that Ben's eyes were clenched shut.

"Ben?" Luke asked warily.

"Watch the hologram!" Ben's voice was strained. "Don't worry about me, just tell me what the holocron showed when it's all over,"

Luke wanted to let go and help Ben with whatever struggle he was facing, but he knew it would be in vain. They each had their part of play now that the holocron was opened; whatever Ben was facing, he would have to do so alone.

That was when Luke caught a glimpse of what the Darkness had unleashed in the past: there were blistering sores, mass contamination of water supplies, and Jedi turning against Jedi. Pain; suffering; death.

The Darkness was capable of hideous crimes, and had executed many vile acts over the years. There was no way to guess what it was planning next.

After what felt like an eternity, the hologram concluded. But instead of settling quietly back into the holocron, the glass device shattered outward into a million pieces. Luke instinctively shielded his face with his hands as glass pelted against the sleeves of his robe.

Then he felt it. The Darkness.

With one hand resting on the hilt of his lightsaber, Luke waited for the Darkness to speak to him, but not a word was said until Ben opened his eyes.

Those unnaturally yellow eyes…

" _The last of the Jedi,_ " Ben's voice was horse, as if he'd been screaming for hours. " _How my grandson has aged,_ "

"Whatever it is you want," Luke said carefully, "Leave my nephew out of this,"

" _Ah, the once promising boy,_ " the Darkness cackled through Ben. " _At least he's of some use, seeing as how were are finally having a conversation,_ "

"If you hurt him," Luke warned, "There will be consequences,"

" _An empty threat_ ," the Darkness scoffed. " _Though you should be happy to learn I have no need for your precious nephew anymore,"_

"Then what do you want from us?"

Ben's body leaned forward. " _My interests lie beyond what sits in this cabin,"_ the Darkness said. " _There are more susceptible life forms in this galaxy than that of an aged Jedi, a fallen Padawan, and a mammalian warrior,_ "

"So you prey on innocents," Luke said, "But to what end? What do you wish to accomplish?"

" _Do you even need to ask_?" The Darkness narrowed Ben's yellowed eyes. " _I seek what I have always sought: an imbalance in the Force. And the one who may be able to tip the scale is a certain beloved scavenger from Jakku,"_

Luke knew a threat when he heard one. The Jedi was on his feet in an instant, but the Darkness was quicker. The Darkness raised Ben's hand, dragging Luke via the Force over the table so the two could see eye to eye. But before the Darkness could utter another word, Chewbacca smacked the end of his crossbow across the back of Ben's head. Ben slumped on the table, ending the confrontation before it could even start.

R2-D2 beeped a question to Luke. "I'm fine," Luke assured the droid. "Chewbacca," The wookie growled a response. "Tend to Ben's wounds while I reset the navigations for the most direct route to Endor. I fear Rey may be in danger,"

[Author's note: I apologize if I inaccurately portrayed anything about the holocrons; my knowledge of them is very little.

Also, I would like to give a shout-out to my personal friend, FFN user PrincessSkywalkerOrgana, for suggesting the holocrons be found in the Jedi temple on Coruscant.]


	4. Chapter 4

The moment the Sith holocron opened, each member of the Knights of Ren felt the Darkness stir within. It coursed through their veins like poison, while at the same time pinpointing the location of the ancient evil. Now that they knew the approximate region, they could alert the stormtroopers by garrison to scout the separate areas.

As for the Knights of Ren, they knew what they needed to do.


	5. Chapter 5

If Rey had to pick her single favorite thing about Endor's ecology, it would be the abundance of greenery. However, if she had to choose her favorite "useful" ecological aspect, it would be the breeze.

Back on Jakku, winds were never guaranteed in the desert; many times Rey hung washed clothes on the top of her AT-AT overnight to find them still damp the next morning. Here, she could tie a clothesline outside the treehouse and have the clothes dried in mere hours. She hoped wherever her family lived next, they'd have access to similar environmental pleasures.

There was an escalating whir as a ship approach. The thought that Ben and Luke had returned provided Rey with a sense of relief. Perhaps the trip had been successful; perhaps it hadn't. Either way, they'd made it back safely, and in the end that's all that mattered.

Reaching out with the Force, Rey attempted to contact Ben before he physically arrived. Yet as she searched for her husband, Rey was met with an unfamiliar presence… and it wasn't singular. Curious, she walked around to the other side of the tree for a better view of Endor's visitors. With panic quickly rising, she realized it was not the Falcon as she'd expected: it was a swarm of tie-fighters.

For a split second, Rey could do nothing but watch in horror. Where were Ben, Luke, Chewbacca, and R2-D2? What led the First Order here? And what exactly had the First Order come here for?

As the tie-fighters drew closer, Rey hurried into her home and swept Cela into her arms. The infant, though initially surprised by being whisked from her crib, gave a curious look upwards as the starfighters raced overhead.

"It's okay my love," Rey whispered. "We're going to be okay,"

Judging by what she'd seen, Rey estimated there were about a dozen tie-fighters, all traveling within a short distance from one another. Once the starfighters had distanced themselves from the village, she would make her way under protective cover of the forest to meet the padawans in one of the nearby caves. From there, they could wait until the tie-fighters left…or, if need be, strike when the pilots landed.

With an explosion that shook the walls, Rey witnessed one of the starfighters fall out of the sky in a blazing ball of fire. Moments later, it's attacker flew over the smoldering trees while firing at the other tie-fighters. It was a circular beige ship, one that could only be…

 _Ben_. Rey reached out, and this time she could feel his presence.


	6. Chapter 6

Time had not dampened Luke's abilities as a pilot. When the last of the tie-fighters were shot down, he swifly landed the Falcon on Endor's designated landing area, and then made the short trek to the cave where Rey, Cela, and the padawans waited.

"I'm glad you made it safely," Rey said, giving Luke a tight one-armed hug while she held her baby with the other.

"We must move quickly," Luke said. "By now the First Order must have sent a distress signal,"

"Yes, of course," When the last of the padawans entered the Falcon, Rey asked in a hushed whisper, "Where's Ben?"

"Inside," Luke said, "Recuperating,"

Rey looked at the Falcon. She sensed Ben in one of the bunkers, but she also felt a haze surrounding him, as if he were caught in his own personal thunderstorm.

"What happened on Coruscant?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the ship.

Luke tried to guide Rey toward the Falcon. "We can discuss this inside,"

"No," Rey said firmly as she twisted away. "Not until I know it's safe to bring Cela aboard,"

"It's perfectly safe," Luke promised. "What happened on board is no longer a threat. Right now, the most immediate danger for any of us is waiting here. If we leave now, the First Order will only find Ewoks, and they will more than likely continue their search and leave Endor's inhabitants alone,"

Rey turned back to the Falcon. Luke was right; whatever happened on the ship was over, and whatever trace that remained haunted only Ben.

"You're right," Rey said. "But under no circumstances do you bring Cela near that presence,"

"I undertsand," Luke said. "Now, we really must depart,"

Once they safely jumped from lightspeed (and finished calming a very scared Cela), Rey cautiously entered Ben's room. He was lying on a bunk, fully awake.

"Ben?" He lifted his head, but winced instantly. "Don't get up," Rey said as she sat on the side of his bed. "Luke told me what happened,"

Ben gave a slight grimace. "Did he now?"

"More or less. How are you feeling?"

"Sore," Ben said. "I forgot how sturdy that bowcaster is,"

"It does pack quite the punch," Rey agreed. Then, not intending to beat around the bush any longer, she said, "Listen, I'm sorry about how we left things. I shouldn't have been so raw with you. I know why you and the others did this, but…" Rey shook her head. "You're one of the few constants in my life. And when you decided to go on a dangerous journey to Coruscant, I thought back to when I was left alone on Jakku, and suddenly I was this scared little girl all over again,"

Trying not to tilt his head too much as he readjusted his body, Ben placed a reassuring hand on Rey's arm. "You know I wouldn't have gone if it wasn't important," he said.

"I know,"

"And if it makes you feel any better, Luke and I don't have any more daring missions planned,"

"Good," Rey sighed. "So what do you suggest we plan next in our never-ending plight to vanquish the dark side?"

A serious look came over Ben's face. "We do the only thing we can do," he said. "We unite with the Resistance,"


	7. Chapter 7

It was time to go home.

Luke informed specific members of the Resistance about Ben's intentions to return. Some hesitated; others heatedly argued.

"As soon as we open the door," Luke warned, "There will be oppression,"

Ben nodded. "I anticipate nothing less,"

"It won't all be directed at you," Luke said. "I'm certain to come under scrutiny as well,"

"We all will," Rey said, looking around at the group. "But if they threaten one of us, they threaten all of us,"

"And it may not even come to that," Luke added. "Ben's departure from the First Order, as well as your marriage to Rey, did not go unnoticed. Lives may have been lost, but lives have also been saved," Luke looked at Cela. "In some cases, lives have even been created. The moment we leave the Falcon, we will be taking our first steps in a new chapter of the Resistance.

"Now, are we ready?" With a determination that burned as brightly as a sun, each individual nodded. "Then let us depart,"

As the old doors of the Falcon slid back to reveal the faces of the Resistance, Rey took a reassuring hold of Ben's hand. Come what may, they would be in this together till the end.

*Author's note: While I have a basic layout for where I want this "sequel Reylo" series to go, I'd given some thought as to ending it once "The Last Jedi" came out and invalidated my storyline. And yet, after watching the movie...I still have some inspiration to continue!

At this point I need to decide if I should incorporate factors from TLJ into my series (if I do, I'll put a spoiler warning in the next story's description). I'm leaning towards doing this, as certain factors are hard to ignore.

As always, thank you for your continued reading, interest, and support for this series. And, because I believe in giving credit where credit is due, I want to give a special shout-out to SaintsFan1...your thoughtful reviews are appreciated and remind me this series isn't drifting aimlessly in the big ol' world wide web!

May the Force be with you all ;) *

*Update: To be continued in "Return to the Resistance"...*


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